Agenda item

Report of the Leader

The decision is a Council decision and only the Council can determine the matter – at this stage the decision relates to the process to be followed.

Council considered a report by the Managing Director which advised Council of the letter that had been received from the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution and of emerging implications for the Council and North East Derbyshire in respect of Local Government Reorganisation.

Councillor N Barker, Leader of the Council, stated that it had been very busy with lots of meetings regarding reorganisation since the last Council meeting.  He stated that the report sought approval to engage with the conversations and to have input in the proposals being put forward, in order to best represent the people of North East Derbyshire.

Councillor N Barker moved, and Councillor P Kerry seconded, the recommendations in the report.

Councillor A Dale expressed concern that there was no proposal set out in the report and felt there was a lack of clarity. Councillor Dale spoke about the proposal put forward by Derbyshire County Council and that a North and South option would involve duplication, which went against the ability to make savings which what was driving this.

Councillor A Dale did not believe that authority should be delegated to the Managing Director and moved an amendment to remove recommendation 2(b) and replace with ‘organise an extraordinary full Council to enable discussions on any draft interim proposals prior to submission to MHCLG’.  Councillor C Cupit seconded the amendment.

Councillors D Hancock, F Adlington-Stringer, R Shipman, and M Foster all spoke in support of the amendment.

Councillor H Wetherall asked a question regarding the costs of project managing this work, and whether an impact assessment had been carried out on the impact to North East Derbyshire residents.  The Managing Director stated that the March deadline was just a gateway and a check-in, and no definitive proposal would be presented, so at this stage it was hard to know the full costs that would be encountered between now and the November 2025 deadline.

Councillor N Barker responded that the proposal would be brought back to Council before the November 2025 deadline.

Councillor A Dale stated that the views and input of Members was important and that is why the amendment was necessary.

The amendment was put to the vote and was lost.

Councillor R Shipman expressed concerns that only the eight leaders of the Borough, Districts and City Councils had had input into the options.

Councillor J Birkin stated that one of the requirements of the letter from government was to show how it the Council had consulted on proposals. Councillor S Reed asked what form the consultation would take, and whether it would include Members of the Council. Councillor N Barker confirmed that there would be a consultation, and it would be brought back to Council for Members to comment.

The proposal was put to the vote.

RESOLVED – That:

(1)      the letter and criteria set out by the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution be noted.

(2)      authority be delegated to the Managing Director, in consultation with Cabinet members, to:

(a)  Represent the Council in Derbyshire wide discussion and negotiations to develop a Derbyshire wide proposal(s) that meet the criteria set out by the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution.

(b)  Submit interim proposals to MHCLG in March to gain feedback on options being considered.